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Ph.D. Researcher · UCF · LIMB Lab

Zubaidah
Al-Mashhadani

Bridging brain, body, and machine — I develop neuromorphic sensing systems and adaptive decoders for dexterous prosthetic and robotic control.

NEURO
10+
Publications
5+
Years Research
7+
Fellowships & Awards
3
Research Domains
Ph.D. candidate in Electrical Engineering at UCF's LIMB Lab. My research sits at the intersection of tactile sensing, neuromorphic computing, and machine learning — building real-time adaptive systems that let humans and robots share perception.
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Research & Projects

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2024 – Present

Sensory Feedback via Neuromorphic Tactile Sensing

Designed a piezoresistive tactile pipeline for robotic fingertips enabling real-time texture recognition across 21 surface conditions with low-latency, energy-efficient edge deployment. Led to the uSense paper submitted to Nature Machine Intelligence.

Live signal simulation

Neuromorphic Tactile Sensing Edge AI Prosthetics
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2024 – 2025

Robust Myoelectric Control via Latent Space Modeling

Designed and deployed a multimodal hand-gesture dataset via LSL synchronization. Developed a position-agnostic, day-agnostic, user-agnostic EMG decoder — published in IEEE TNSRE 2025.

sEMG signal stream

sEMG BCI Deep Learning One-Shot Learning
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2026 – Present

Multimodal Gesture Decoding: EMG + Ultrasound + IMU

Fusing ultrasound, sEMG, and IMU signals to build a generalizable gesture decoder. Investigating cross-modal correlations to relate peripheral muscle activity to cortical signals for next-gen prosthetic interfaces.

Accuracy by modality

Sensor Fusion Ultrasound IMU Multimodal ML
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2021 – 2022

EEG Emotion Recognition via Riemannian Geometry

Increased emotion recognition accuracy by 9% using lower-dimensional Riemannian geometry. Improved feature selection achieving +5% accuracy gain. Published in Applied Sciences 2023.

Feature cluster map

EEG Signal Processing Riemannian Geometry Emotion AI
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2023

Autonomous Patient Transport Robot

Implemented Visual SLAM with Intel RealSense for safe indoor navigation. Led system-level design across sensing, perception, and evaluation. Mentored undergraduates in ROS and Linux development.

Sensor signal trace

ROS SLAM HRI Robotics
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2019 – 2021

Agricultural Robot: Disease Detection & Navigation

Built CNN-based crop disease and ripeness classification. Achieved collision-free navigation using HRI. Annotated tomato ripeness dataset; presented at IEEE ICCAS & IEMCON.

Classification accuracy

Computer Vision CNN ROS Autonomous Navigation
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Select Publications

2026
Nature Machine Intelligence · Submitted
uSense: Stochastic Edge Neuromorphic Sensing
Z. Al-Mashhadani, M. Rakhshan, D. Wu
2025
IEEE TNSRE · Published
Toward Plug and Play Myoelectric Control via One-Shot Latent Representation Alignment
Z. Al-Mashhadani, T. Overton, D. Wu, M. Rakhshan — vol. 33, pp. 4409–4421
2025
Journal of Neural Engineering · Accepted
Limb Position Effect in Myoelectric Control: Strategies for Optimisation and Standardisation
T. Overton, Z. Al-Mashhadani, M. Rakhshan
2023
Applied Sciences
The Efficacy and Utility of Lower-Dimensional Riemannian Geometry for EEG-Based Emotion Classification
Z. Al-Mashhadani, N. Bayat, I.F. Kadhim, R. Choudhury, J.H. Park
2023
IntechOpen · Book Chapter
Challenges and Trends of Machine Learning in the Myoelectric Control System for Upper Limb Exoskeletons and Exosuits
J. Fu, Z. Al-Mashhadani, K. Currier, AM. Al-Ani, JH. Park
2023
IEEE ICCAS 2023
Autonomous Agricultural Monitoring Robot for Efficient Smart Farming
Z. Al-Mashhadani, B. Chandrasekaran — Yeosu, Republic of Korea
2021
IEEE IEMCON 2021
ROS-Based Robotic System for Tomato Disease and Ripeness Classification using CNNs
Z. Al-Mashhadani, B. Chandrasekaran — Vancouver, BC
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Technical Skills

Programming Languages
Python MATLAB C++ C R Verilog Assembly Linux
ML & Signal Processing
TensorFlow PyTorch CUDA Neuromorphic Computing Dimensionality Reduction Sensor Fusion SLAM Computer Vision
Hardware & Biosignal Tools
OpenBCI / BrainVision EEG OyMotion EMG Armband Intel RealSense Arduino / Jetson / RPi FPGA LiDAR Tactile Sensors
Software & Frameworks
ROS Gazebo LSL / BrainFlow SciPy / NumPy / Pandas SolidWorks Simulink AutoCAD
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Education & Experience

2021 – Present
Ph.D. Electrical Engineering
University of Central Florida · Orlando, FL
  • LIMB Lab — tactile sensing, neuromorphic computing, myoelectric control
  • Advisors: Dr. Mohsen Rakhshan & Dr. Di Wu
  • Previous: NeuroControl Lab, advisor Dr. Yuxiao Yang
  • Teaching Assistant: Linear Circuits I & II, Digital Systems, Electronics I
2019 – 2021
M.S. Robotics Engineering
Florida Polytechnic University · Lakeland, FL
  • Graduate Teaching Assistant — Circuits I & II
  • Research: Optimizing Navigation and Vision Systems for Ground Robots
  • Advisor: Dr. Balasubramaniyan Chandrasekaran
2011 – 2015
B.S. Mechatronics Engineering
Engineering Technical College Baghdad · Iraq
  • Capstone: Aerial quadcopter with gyroscope stabilization for surveillance
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Awards & Memberships

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Future Faculty Laurette Scholarship
UCF Electrical Engineering · 2024
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Faculty Cluster Initiative Fellowship
UCF Disability, Aging & Technology Cluster · 2024
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Fulbright Foreign Student Program Alumni
U.S. Department of State · 2019
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Chevening Scholarship (Offered × 2)
UK Foreign Commonwealth Office · 2019
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ORCG Doctoral Fellowship
UCF · 2021
IEEE HKN Mu Omega — Founder Member
IEEE Eta Kappa Nu · 2020
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IEEE Robotics & Automation Society
Member since 2021
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BMES Graduate Student Relations Director
Biomedical Engineering Society · 2024
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Lab & Field Work

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Let's build something meaningful.

I'm open to research collaborations, industry positions in neurotech, BCI, robotics, and AI — and conversations about the future of human–machine interaction.